I was out tromping in back a few days ago and pulled back some bark on a fallen tree, looking for something to photograph. This little wonder was there. You can see its fearfully and wonderfully made insides.
I suspect this is one of the many varieties of immature insects tended by wood ants. There was fresh evidence of wood ant activity nearby, and you can see the honeydew droplets on this fellow, waiting to be harvested by hungry ants.
How did an insect with no creativity or intelligence learn how to harvest honeydew from larvae? Which ant thought of it first? How did she teach the others her lore? Who told the ant that to keep a steady supply nearby, one must tend to the needs of the larva, defend it from predators, and bring it the correct variety of leafy plant to eat? Could it be that there is a God who wrote these things into the ant's DNA?
From this photograph I learned that sometimes it's good to use a longer focal length. It would have been nice to have the back of the larva in focus too.
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1 comment:
This is so cool! I sort of like the back not being in focus... it gives it a look of depth. I often wonder about the animals and birds, who tells them to do the things that they need to for their survival. Like when to migrate and hibernate and when to come home and wake up?
This morning there was a nuthatch on the tree, pip pip pipping away. I adore little nuthatches. They have a different shaped beak that looks exotic... And they hop sideways up and down the tree. How different is that? How would they figure out how to do that?
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